ESC: UPS' failed bid good for competition

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The Brussels-based European Shippers' Council has congratulated UPS for abandoning its proposed 5.2-billion-euro takeover of TNT Express due to information that the European Commission would stop the merger once a formal ruling is held in February.
In a statement, the ESC said it had serious concerns about competition in the European express market if the merger had been approved. Its decision was reached after consulting with customers of both TNT and UPS and its large membership.
The merger would have brought an express market with three major players down to two, and it would have been difficult for the smaller of the two, DHL Express, to compete with a merged UPS and TNT. "A few years ago a similar reduction in the number of express companies in the United States resulted in significant price increases," according to the statement. - Jon Ross